“In this informative book, Annie Miller not only explores the idea of basic income: she exhaustively explains what it is and what it would mean to implement, using extensive economic data. Miller starts off from a broad, existential position, outlining why the current system is no longer suitable for the times and needs to change. Her proposed solution is a society with BI, which she first outlines abstractly before diving into its internal workings, explaining who would be eligible for BI, what would happen to the rest of the welfare system, and other crucial details. Miller backs up her statements with substantive economic research and analysis. She ends with a section on how to achieve a society with BI, giving examples of pilot schemes elsewhere and discussing the politics behind implementation. Thus she brings the reader full circle from aspiring to a BI society, to seeing what it would take to reach it.”

Annie Miller, a former instructor of economics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, has a long and distinguished history in the basic income movement: she was a cofounder of the Basic Income Research Group (which later became the Citizen’s Income Trust, BIEN’s UK affiliate) in 1984, a cofounder of BIEN itself in 1986, and a cofounder of Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland (BIEN’s Scottish affiliate) in 2016.

Reviewed by Cameron McLeod

Photo credit: Enno Schmidt

About Kate McFarland

Kate McFarland has written 501 articles.

I'm not the sort to define myself by a job or occupation. I do stuff that interests me and wait and see what happens job-wise (and, more generally, life-wise). If you want to see where my open-ended lifestyle leads next (I presently have no idea myself, and that's the excitement of it), follow my new personal blog. I don't attempt to sell or actively monetize my writing or other labors of love; however, I accept donations on Patreon and PayPal.

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